I am planing a two weeks trip to Madeira and hope that I can get my newly build DIY pole cam in the water (Nexus + 5D mk1 + EF 15mm Fisheye). I am hoping to catch some whales / dolphins. Now I am not sure if I should get a set of Magic Filters for the trip.
- Whats is your opinion / experience with taking Ocean images close to the surface the magic filters especially in 0,3 - 1m? Would you advise to use the Magic Filters?
- Whats would be your preferred ISO / aperture to start with for those ambient light shots ( of cause depending on the light condition / sunny / cloudy /....... )
Thanks for your feedback.
Best regards,
Matthias
As much as I am Magic Filter junky, I would not recommend them in such shallow condition as they will pink out everything, pole camera typically work in shallow water where there is plenty of light penetration and a managable loss of color, the filter will complicate thing uncessarely and rob you of a few precious light stops that could/should be converted in either more depth of field of faster shutter speed. these filter really work their magic when they have somewhat of a water column over them.
I agree, CC filters aren't necessary in shallow water.
Hi Viz'art, hi Drew,
thanks a lot for your feedback. I was kind of expecting that due to the shallow waters the filter might turn out to cause a color cast.
Best regards,
Matthias
ISO/aperture needs to accommodate a shutter speed of at least 1/400sec, and 1/600sec is better for dolphins (a tip from an expert that really worked for me). That probably means a minimum of ISO400.
Tim
The color cast can be whitebalanced out, the problem is the 2 stops of light lost. In Madeira, there's bill fish like Marlin around and you want a fast shutter speed to freeze the action. 1/800 and up if there are tuna around too. You also want want to keep noise down so I suggest you start with ISO320 and move up from there. How high depends on your personal needs and tolerance for noise.
Dear All,
thanks a lot for your feedback. I will begin with ISO 400 and 1/400s and see what aperture I will get out of that. I hope that the weather is on my side. After that I will see in which direction I can go with the settings ....
First I have to finalize my DIY project in the next few days.
